Method and device for accepting articles in the form of sheet-type material

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accepting sheet material, in particular papers of value such as bank notes, checks, etc., whereby different groups of sheet material are successively accepted and stored.  
     In a known method and corresponding apparatus for accepting groups of sheet material such as bank notes, the bank notes coming from a deliverer are checked and stored in a storage container in the order of their input. Thus it is not always recognizable without doubt subsequently, e.g. in cases of malfunction, which deliverer certain bank notes come from.  
     The present invention starts out from the consideration that each group of sheet material is assigned at least one separation means and the separation means are stored at least partly together with the associated group of sheet material for separating the associated group of sheet material from other groups of sheet material.

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus foraccepting sheet material, in particular papers of value such as banknotes, checks, etc., whereby different groups of sheet material aresuccessively accepted and stored.

[0002] In a known method and corresponding apparatus for accepting sheetmaterial such as bank notes, it is provided that a deliverer inputs agroup of bank notes, hereinafter called a delivery, into a correspondingapparatus for acceptance. Additionally, the deliverer must identifyhimself, for example by using a check card whose data, e.g. accountnumber, are read. The corresponding account number is then credited withthe bank notes inputted for acceptance. For this purpose the bank notesare checked for example as to authenticity and denomination in order todetermine the total sum of bank notes inputted for acceptance. Thechecked bank notes are then transported by the apparatus to a storagecontainer and kept there. The bank notes are stored in the storagecontainer in the order of their input.

[0003] However, the known method and corresponding apparatus havedisadvantages in several respects. One problem is for example the use ofa check card for identification. When e.g. an employee brings thedelivery to a bank operating a corresponding apparatus, he must carrythe account holder's check card with him to perform identificationsuccessfully. This results in certain risks, on the one hand, and ifdifferent employees make deliveries it is problematic to equip each ofthe employees with a corresponding check card, on the other hand.Further problems can arise upon acceptance of the delivery in theapparatus if there are malfunctions during transport of the bank noteswithin the apparatus that cause a change in their order, or there areerrors during the check of the bank notes. In such cases it is notreadily possible to assign the problematic, e.g. forged, bank notes tothe actual deliverer. This makes it difficult or impossible to check theindividual deliveries subsequently.

[0004] It is therefore the problem of the present invention to state amethod and apparatus for accepting sheet material, in particular papersof value such as bank notes, checks, etc., whereby different groups ofsheet material are successively accepted and stored, that simplifies andfacilitates operation for deliverers, on the one hand, and permits animproved subsequent check of individual deliveries, on the other hand.

[0005] This problem is solved according to the invention by the featuresof the independent claims.

[0006] For accepting different groups of sheet material consisting of atleast one piece of sheet material, in particular papers of value such asbank notes, checks, etc., that are successively accepted and stored, theinvention starts out from the consideration that each group of sheetmaterial is assigned at least one separation means and the separationmeans are stored at least partly together with the associated group ofsheet material for separating the associated group of sheet materialfrom other groups of sheet material.

[0007] The advantage of the invention is in particular in that theproposed use of separation means is suitable for guaranteeing theassignability of each group of sheet material to a deliverer.

[0008] In an advantageous embodiment, it is provided that the separationmeans have information or are provided with information. Evaluation ofthe information guarantees for example the unique assignability of eachgroup of sheet material to a deliverer. Evaluation of the information ofthe separation means permits this even without the use of specialidentification means, e.g. a check card, by the deliverer.

[0009] In a further advantageous embodiment, it is provided thatadditional separation means are produced to be stored together with thesheet material of each group of sheet material. The use of additionalseparation means allows better processing of sheet material since theadditional separation means allow the individual groups of sheetmaterial to be exactly subdivided, for example to separate forged orpossibly forged sheet material from other sheet material.

[0010] Further advantages of the present invention result from thedependent claims and the following description of embodiments withreference to figures.

[0011] To facilitate understanding, only the elements that are ofimportance in connection with the present invention will be describedhereinafter.

[0012]FIG. 1a shows a schematic first embodiment of an apparatus foraccepting different groups of sheet material,

[0013]FIG. 1b shows a schematic second embodiment of an apparatus foraccepting different groups of sheet material,

[0014]FIG. 2a shows a first embodiment of separation means for a groupof sheet material with an inserted group of sheet material,

[0015]FIG. 2b shows the first embodiment of separation means for a groupof sheet material without sheet material,

[0016]FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of separation means for a groupof sheet material with an inserted group of sheet material,

[0017]FIG. 4 shows an arrangement of a plurality of groups of sheetmaterial with associated separation means,

[0018]FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of separation means for detectinginformation for a group of sheet material,

[0019]FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of separation means for detectinginformation for a group of sheet material, and

[0020]FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of separation means for detectinginformation for a group of sheet material.

[0021] In the following the acceptance of different groups of sheetmaterial will be described by way of example with reference to theacceptance of different groups of bank notes, hereinafter calleddeliveries. Other papers of value such as checks, etc., can be processedin the same way. The different deliveries are separated by separationmeans, for example separation cards. A bank note accepting machine isused for processing the different deliveries.

[0022]FIG. 1a shows a schematic first embodiment of bank note acceptingmachine 100 for accepting different groups of sheet material.

[0023] A deliverer has inserted delivery E3 into input 110. Sheetmaterial of delivery E3 consists of bank notes BN3 and separation cardTK3 and is transferred individually by singler 111 to transport system120 that guides the sheet material through sensor device 112 connectedwith control device 140. By means of its sensors, sensor device 112derives data from the sheet material that are evaluated by controldevice 140. Evaluation can be dispensed with in the simplest case, oronly a count of sheet material is performed. However, evaluation canalso include a check for authenticity and type of sheet material, e.g.authenticity and denomination of bank notes. In the same way, sensordevice 112 and control device 140 can detect information applied toseparation card TK3. Then the sheet material is stored in storagecontainer 130.

[0024] The data of bank notes BN3 determined during the check and theinformation of separation card TK3 are stored in a memory of controldevice 140. The data of the check can also be transferred to separationcard TK3, for example in sensor device 112. The data are related withthe check of bank notes BN3, for example their number, type (currency,denomination), total sum, etc. For this purpose, separation card TK3must constitute the last piece of sheet material in delivery E3, asshown. Likewise, it is possible that a separation card is disposed asthe first piece of sheet material or at any place in a delivery, inwhich case an additional device (not shown) must be used in which thecard can be temporarily stored until the total deposit has beenprocessed. For example, it can be provided that the card is returned toinput 110 after running through sensor device 112 to be able to beprocessed again. In the example of FIG. 1, two deliveries E1 and E2 havealready been accepted. Bank notes BN1 and BN2 and separation cards TK1and TK2 are accordingly stacked in storage container 130, card TK1separating first delivery E1 from second delivery E2, and second cardTK2 separating second delivery E2 from delivery E3 to be processedsubsequently.

[0025] All functions of bank note accepting machine 100 are controlledby control device 140, for example a microcomputer. The deliverer cancontrol the acceptance process by means of input/output device 150,which contains for example a printer and/or a display and/or a keyboardand/or a touch screen and/or a card reader, or the deliverer is informedabout the acceptance process by accepting machine 100. Theabovementioned information of separation card TK3 that is detected bysensor device 112 and processed by control device 140 can contain notonly accounting data such as the deliverer's account number, type andnumber of bank notes of the delivery, etc., but also instructions foraccepting machine 100. Such instructions may include for example aspecial processing mode in which accepting machine 100 works in a wayespecially suitable for the particular deliverer. Such processing modescan be different for example for the delivery of checks or bank notes.Further, an operating mode can be provided in which separation card TK3is not stored in storage container 130 but returned to the deliverer.This operating mode will be explained in more detail below.

[0026] Sheet material that was not recognizable during the check bycontrol device 140 or caused problems, e.g. due to simultaneous removalof a plurality of pieces of sheet material by singler 111, can bereturned to the deliverer. For this purpose, diverter 122, which is partof transport system 120, is actuated by controller 140 and nonrecognizedsheet material is outputted to output 135. Instead of separate output135, input 110 can also be used if nonrecognized sheet material isreturned, as described above for the separation card. For separation aseparation element, for example a plate or finger, must then be placedon delivery E3 after the onset of processing so that returned sheetmaterial is separated from the rest of the delivery. It is also possibleto perform one or more reruns for nonrecognized sheet material to reducethe number of nonrecognized sheet material. Nonrecognized sheet materialis thus taken from output 135 and reinserted into input 110 or theseparation element is removed. To achieve the above-described separationfunction of separation cards TK for individual deliveries E in case ofreruns, the order of deliveries E, in particular the position of cardsTK at the beginning and/or end, must be retained. Separation cards TKcan thus be guided into input 110, as described above, to be singledagain at the end of processing.

[0027] To retain the order of sheet material, in particular bank notesBN and separation cards TK, of individual deliveries, the abovementionedbuffer (not shown) for bank notes BN and/or a further buffer (not shown)for separation card TK can also be provided in which bank notes BN orcard TK of delivery E are placed during the check. Only after the end ofprocessing, bank notes BN and card TK are removed from the buffer orbuffers and transferred to storage container 130. If one or more buffersare used, it can also be provided that card TK is inserted into one ofthe buffers by the deliverer at the outset of processing, separatelyfrom the bank notes of the delivery. The corresponding buffer canfurthermore have a sensor that detects information applied to separationcard TK in the same way as sensor device 112.

[0028] As indicated above, separation cards TK can be disposed at thebeginning or end of the particular delivery. Likewise, it is possible toprovide a separation card at both the beginning and the end of theparticular delivery. Using separation cards within a delivery can obtainfurther divisions, which will be explained in more detail below inconnection with FIG. 4.

[0029]FIG. 1b shows a schematic second embodiment of bank note acceptingmachine 100 for accepting different groups of sheet material. The secondembodiment shown in FIG. 1b corresponds substantially to theabove-described first embodiment according to FIG. 1a in design andfunction.

[0030] Bank note accepting machine 100 additionally has second storagecontainer 131, diverter 121 controlled by control device 140 forswitching transport system 120 from first storage container 130 tosecond storage container 131, and device 160 controlled by controldevice 140 for producing additional separation cards TK′, TK″.

[0031] Additional separation cards TK′, TK″ are used for, among otherthings, preserving the findings obtained during the check of bank notesto permit a later, simple analysis of the content of storage container130 or 131. In the shown example, first delivery E1 has been processedand bank notes BN1 stored together with separation card TK1 in storagecontainer 130. Second, likewise processed delivery E2 contained banknote BN2′ that was not accepted during the check, e.g. because it is aforgery or suspected forgery or because it involves a multiple removal.Bank note BN2′ is therefore stored in second storage container 131,which is provided in this example for unaccepted bank notes. Remainingbank notes BN2 accepted during the check are stored in first storagecontainer 130. For separating bank notes BN2 and BN2′, device 160 forproducing additional separation cards has produced separation cardsTK2″, TK2′ and transport system 120 has transferred them to first andsecond storage containers 130, 131, where they delimit bank notes BN2,BN2′ from bank notes of following delivery E3. Separation card TK2,which was originally inputted to input 110 together with bank notes BN2by the deliverer, is returned to the deliverer in this example.Separation card TK2 is thus transported to output 135 by transportsystem 120, by actuation of diverters 121 and 122 by control device 140.Separation card TK2 can have information that, as described above, isapplied in sensor device 112 and can comprise the result of acceptanceof the delivery, in particular information that bank note BN2′ isprobably a forged bank note. However, separation card TK2 can also bereused for a later delivery. If separation card TK2 is not returned tothe deliverer, it is used for separation in one of storage containers130, 131, so that separation card TK2″ or TK2′ does not have to beproduced by device 160. Information about the check of the bank notesand the information about deliverer, etc., contained on separation cardTK2 are likewise applied to separation cards TK2′ and TK2″ so that thebank notes separated by them can be analyzed and assigned later.

[0032] The use of additional separation card producing device 160, whichcan also be disposed at another place in transport system 120, alsomakes it fundamentally possible for a delivery to be inserted into input110 without a separation card. The deliverer must then identify himselfe.g. by inputting his account number by means of input/output device 150or by using a check card. The separation cards required for separatingthe deposits in storage container 130 and/or 131 are then produced bydevice 160, in dependence on the check.

[0033] If only first storage container 130 is used, additionalseparation cards TK′, TK″ can likewise be used. These are then addedaccordingly between the bank notes of the deposit. For example, it canbe provided that additional separation card TK′ is always produced whena forged bank note is recognized. Separation card TK′ is then placed andstored in storage container 130 over or under the forged bank note topermit this bank note to be clearly identified later.

[0034] Likewise, it is possible to use further storage containers topermit the bank notes of a delivery to be stored for example in singledenominations and/or currencies. All bank notes of one denominationand/or all bank notes of one currency are thus stored in a storagecontainer in each case. Separation cards must accordingly be producedfor each of the storage containers in which bank notes of a delivery arestored to permit the bank notes of the particular delivery to bedelimited from bank notes of previous and/or following deliveries.

[0035] There are a number of ways for the deliverer to provide deliverydata on the separation cards in the form of information for processingwith bank note accepting machine 100.

[0036] A first approach is for the deliverer to prepare a voucher thatcan be used as a separation card. This can be done using specialprograms by which the deliverer detects the data of his delivery andenters them in the books and the program automatically performs a datatransfer with the detected data to the service provider, e.g. over theInternet or other telecommunication routes, and an accompanying slip isprinted at the deliverer's that is enclosed in the delivery and can beused directly as a machine-readable separation card during bank noteprocessing.

[0037] In this case the embodiment of a separation card with electroniccoding, e.g. an embedded chip and transponder, is of particularadvantage. The information applied by the deliverer (e.g. delivereridentification, delivery identification, total nominal value, number ofbank notes per denomination, account number, bank code number, etc.) canbe read in its totality or as a subset by the bank note acceptingmachine and adopted for processing. This method has the advantage thatpreparatory work on bank note accepting machine 100 is unnecessary.

[0038] In another variant, the deliverer can for example fill in fieldson a preprinted separation card or check them off (in the manner of alotto coupon) to mark the value of his delivery or the number of banknotes of the particular denominations. Such a separation card is shownin FIG. 5. Separation card TK has fields for each denomination. Fordenomination “five” 42 there are fields 41 for the numbers from “zero”to “nine” that are weighted with multiplier “one” 44 and a multiplier“ten”. In the shown example there are 86 bank notes of the denomination“five.” Further field 45 can contain data that e.g. identify thedeliverer.

[0039]FIGS. 2 and 3 show further embodiments of separation cards.Separation cards TK are formed in the shown cases as containers, inparticular envelopes or covers of paper, paperboard or cardboard.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 2a, bank notes BN of a delivery are insertedinto the envelope. Envelope TK moreover has gap 11 that singler 111 canengage to remove sheet material individually out of the opening of theenvelope. When the total sheet material is removed, as shown in FIG. 2b,singler 111 grasps the envelope on the side of the envelope opposite gap11.

[0041] A variant of container or envelope TK is shown in FIG. 3.Envelope TK is equipped with closure means 14 that are closed afterinsertion of a delivery into envelope TK. The delivery can thus betransported safe from access by means of envelope TK. For processing inbank note accepting machine 100 it can be provided that a cutting toolis disposed in singler 111 for first checking the integrity of closuremeans 14 and then opening closure means 14 of envelopes TK to beginsingling. The cutting tool can cut open closure means 14 for examplealong line 15 shown in FIG. 3. But closure means 14 can also becompletely removed by the cutting tool, e.g. along line 16.

[0042] In a special embodiment, containers or envelopes TK can bedesigned so as to carry information that can be read by machine, so thatfor example data fields 12 and/or 13 can be present on one or both sidesof envelope TK. Closure means 14 can also have data fields having thesame information as associated envelopes TK Then it is possible forclosure means 14 to be also used in bank note accepting machine 100 andstored in storage container or containers 130, 131 together with thebank notes to make the bank notes assignable to the particulardeliveries. Closure means 14 can thus be automatically taken intoaccount and transported by bank note accepting machine 100. It is thuspossible to separate both accepted bank notes and unaccepted bank notesof individual deliveries by envelopes TK or closure means 14.

[0043] With reference to the structure of groups of sheet material ordeliveries shown in FIG. 4, further functions of the separation meansshall be described in more detail. FIG. 4 shows first delivery E1consisting of separation means TK1, bank notes BN1 to BN6 as well asfurther separation means TK1′ located between bank notes BN2 and BN3,and second delivery E2 consisting of separation means TK2, bank notesBN7 to BN12 as well as two further separation means TK2′ and TK2″. Lastbank note BN12 can be followed by further deliveries, as indicated by adotted line in FIG. 4.

[0044] Separation means TK1 and TK2 can be formed as separation cards,as shown in FIG. 4, or as containers, as described above in connectionwith FIGS. 2 and 3. Separation means TK1 and TK2 are recognized bysensor device 112 with reference to specific properties, as described.They can moreover have information that can be used for identifyingdeliveries. Further separation means TK′, TK″ are formed as separationcards. In the simplest case, further separation means TK′, TK″ areconstituted by part of the sheet material itself. For example, theserial number of a bank note can be used for unique identification. Theserial number is then assigned the corresponding data, such asdeliverer, deposited amount, etc., stated on separation card TK forprocessing in controller 140 of bank note accepting machine 100.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 4, further separation means TK′, TK″ can bedisposed at any places within particular delivery E, after separationmeans TK. In first delivery E1, separation means TK1′ is located forexample after separation means TK1 and bank notes BN1 and BN2. In seconddelivery E2, further separation means TK2′ are located immediately afterseparation means TK2 and further separation means TK2″ between banknotes BN9 and BN10. The use of further separation means TK′, TK″ withindeliveries E thus also permits the formation of subgroups of bank notesBN1 to BN2, BN3 to BN6, BN7 to BN9 and BN10 to BN12. Said subgroupswithin the deliveries can correspond for example to individual cashregisters of a supermarket.

[0046] In the following, different possibilities for coding andevaluating separation means will be described, said separation meansalways being referred to as separation cards for simplicity's sake.

[0047] Separation cards can be provided with information. Thisinformation can be an identification code that permits an indirect linkwith the data of the delivery held in another system. Thisidentification code can be previously printed, or prepared duringpreparation with the aid of an apparatus for coding separation cards.Additionally or alternatively, the separation card can contain directinformation about the delivery (customer's name, nominal value, numberof bank notes separated according to denomination, etc.) and be used asa receipt for settlement. This information can be applied in the form ofa machine-readable bar code, as information on a magnetic stripe or inthe form of machine-readable character sets (OCR font). It is preparedby the deliverer himself, as described above, or made available and sente.g. by mail or the Internet by a central office, e.g. the bankoperating the bank note accepting machine.

[0048] Further possibilities for individual identification of theseparation card include machine-readable information that establishes aunique relation to a delivery e.g. by means of a two-dimensional barcode. This permits either the amount of information to be distinctlyincreased or the information to be coded so that it can also be read bya sensor device with low resolution. Separation card TK with such atwo-dimensional bar code is shown in FIG. 6. To permitposition-independent evaluation of two-dimensional bar code 52,orientation marks 51, 53, 54 are provided. Further separation card TKwith a two-dimensional data block matrix is shown in FIG. 7. Separationcard 60 likewise has orientation features 61, 62, 63. The information iscontained in the two-dimensional data block matrix having a plurality ofdata blocks 64 to 65. Between individual data blocks 64 to 65 there canbe magnetic or electroconductive stripes that allow recognition even inthe case of concealment by multiple removal. Further information, e.g.in plaintext, can be contained in additional field 66.

[0049] Another possibility for applying and reading information on aseparation card is to use optical codings as are common for example incompact discs. This technology permits a very great amount ofinformation to be applied to a very small area and read optically, forexample with a laser.

[0050] A further possibility for applying and reading information on aseparation card is to use methods with place- and/or intensity-dependentfeatures on the separation card. For example, the arrangement and sizeof conductive elements on the separation card can be used for individualcoding of separation cards. This method can be expanded if theseelements have different states of conductivity and the value ofconductivity is detected and evaluated by a corresponding evaluationmethod. A similar method can be performed with the aid of magneticelements.

[0051] A further possibility is to use optically visible prints thatdiffer clearly in form, arrangement, intensity and spectral property(color) and thus allow individual identification.

[0052] A very advantageous embodiment of the separation card resultsfrom using a chip embedded on the separation card with a transponder.The transponder is applied to the separation card in the form of a coilor antenna and connected with a chip embedded in the separation card.This coil or antenna is used firstly to feed in energy for the powersupply of the embedded chip, secondly for data transfer to the chip(writing information), thirdly for data transfer of information storedon the chip (reading information), and fourthly for reliable recognitionof the presence of a separation card according to the aboveexplanations. The chip is a component that can store and/or processinformation. This embodiment results in a number of advantageousfeatures for a separation card application, since many times moreinformation can be stored in this way than for example in informationbased on a bar code or an OCR font. In addition, the method allowswriting access to the information of the separation card and thus forexample the addition of information in bank note accepting machine 100.In a first step, information about the deliverer, the nominal amount ofthe bank note value or the nominal number of the particulardenominations as well as identification information can be written forexample during preparation of processing. During machine processing,this information is read completely or partly by bank note acceptingmachine 100 and in a further step supplemented by writing access in banknote accepting machine 100 by further processing data, for example theparticular number of bank notes recognized as authentic in terms ofvalue and stacked.

[0053] This method has the further advantage that the information isalso read and written if the separation card is masked by bank notes incertain cases.

1. A method for accepting sheet material (BN), in particular papers ofvalue such as bank notes, checks, etc., whereby different groups ofsheet material (E) are successively accepted, comprising the followingmethod steps: accepting (110) the different groups of sheet materialeach consisting of at least one piece of sheet material, and storing thedifferent groups of sheet material in a storage container (130),characterized in that each group of sheet material is assigned at leastone separation means (TK) before or during acceptance or duringprocessing, the separation means (TK) are transferred, at least partly,together with the associated group of sheet material to the storagecontainer (130) for storage, and the separation means (TK) separate theassociated group of sheet material in the storage container (130) fromother groups of sheet material.
 2. A method according to claim 1,characterized in that the sheet material of each group of sheet materialis checked (112) before storage, in particular for authenticity, valueand number.
 3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in thatthe separation means (TK) are assigned to each group of sheet materialat the beginning of the group of sheet material.
 4. A method accordingto claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the separation means (TK) areassigned to each group of sheet material at the end of the group ofsheet material.
 5. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized inthat separation means (TK) are assigned to each group of sheet materialat the beginning and end of the group of sheet material.
 6. A methodaccording to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least onefurther separation means (TK) is assigned within a group of sheetmaterial, thereby forming subgroups of sheet material.
 7. A methodaccording to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the separationmeans (TK) are provided with information before and/or during acceptanceof the associated group of sheet material.
 8. A method according to anyof claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the separation means (TK) areprovided with information during and/or after the check of the sheetmaterial of the associated group of sheet material.
 9. A methodaccording to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the informationcomprises statements about deliverer and/or type and/or composition ofthe sheet material and/or the manner of processing of the sheet materialof the particular group of sheet material.
 10. A method according to anyof claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the information, or partsthereof, contained on the separation means (TK) is detected and takeninto consideration during the acceptance and/or check and/or storage ofthe particular group of sheet material.
 11. A method according to any ofclaims 1 to 10, characterized in that additional separation means (TK′,TK″) are produced and placed in the storage container (130).
 12. Amethod according to any of claims 2 to 11, characterized in that atleast one further storage container (131) is provided for storing thegroups of sheet material.
 13. A method according to claim 12,characterized in that the sheet material of each group of sheet materialstored in the further storage container (131) is separated by means ofthe separation means (TK).
 14. A method according to any of claims 11 to13, characterized in that the sheet material of each group of sheetmaterial stored in the further storage container (131) is separated byat least one additional separation means (TK′, TK″).
 15. A methodaccording to any of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the separationmeans (TK) are returned (135) to the deliverer after acceptance andstorage of a group of sheet material.
 16. A method according to any ofclaims 1 to 15, characterized in that the separation means (TK) are madeavailable to the deliverer by a central office.
 17. A method accordingto claim 16, characterized in that the separation means (TK) are sentelectronically or by mail.
 18. A method according to any of claims 1 to15, characterized in that the separation means (TK) are prepared by thedeliverer.
 19. An apparatus for accepting sheet material (BN), inparticular papers of value such as bank notes, checks, etc., wherebydifferent groups of sheet material (E) are successively accepted,comprising an input (110) for accepting the different groups of sheetmaterial (E) each consisting of at least one piece of sheet material(BN), a singler (111) for singling the sheet material (BN) of the groupsof sheet material (E), a transport system (120) for transporting thesingled sheet material (BN) of the groups of sheet material (E), astorage container (130) for storing the different groups of sheetmaterial (E), and a control device (140) for controlling the elements ofthe apparatus (100), characterized in that the elements of the apparatus(100) process separation means (TK) that are or have been assigned toeach group of sheet material (E), like sheet material (BN), and theseparation means (TK) are transported, at least partly, together withthe associated group of sheet material (E) by the transport system (120)for storage to the storage container (130), where the separation means(TK) separate the associated group of sheet material (E) from othergroups of sheet material (E).
 20. An apparatus according to claim 19,characterized in that a sensor device (112) is present for producingdata for the sheet material (BN) of each group of sheet material (E)that are checked by the control device (140) to detect authenticity,value and number of the sheet material.
 21. An apparatus according toclaim 19 or 20, characterized in that the separation means (TK) haveinformation.
 22. An apparatus according to claim 20 or 21, characterizedin that a device (112) is provided for applying information to theseparation means (TK) during and/or after the check of the sheetmaterial (BN) of the associated group of sheet material (E).
 23. Anapparatus according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that theinformation comprises statements about deliverer and/or type and/orcomposition of the sheet material and/or the manner of processing of thesheet material in the apparatus (100) and/or results of the check of thesheet material (BN) of the particular group of sheet material (E). 24.An apparatus according to any of claims 21 to 23, characterized in thatthe information, or parts thereof, contained on the separation means(TK) is detected by the sensor device (112) and taken into considerationby the control device (140) during the check and/or storage of theparticular group of sheet material (E).
 25. An apparatus according toany of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that a device (160) is providedfor producing additional separation means (TK′, TK″) that are placed inthe storage container (130).
 26. An apparatus according to any of claims20 to 25, characterized in that at least one further storage container(131) is provided.
 27. An apparatus according to claim 26, characterizedin that the sheet material (BN′) of each group of sheet material (E)stored in the further storage container (131) is separated by means ofthe separation means (TK).
 28. An apparatus according to claim 26 or 27,characterized in that the sheet material (BN′) of each group of sheetmaterial (E) stored in the further storage container (131) is separatedby at least one additional separation means (TK′, TK″) coming from thedevice (160) for producing additional separation means.
 29. An apparatusaccording to any of claims 19 to 28, characterized in that theseparation means (TK) of a group of sheet material (E) are transportedto an output (135) by the transport system after processing.
 30. Meansfor accepting different groups of sheet material, in particular banknotes, for separate acceptance of the sheet material of the differentgroups, characterized in that the means for separation are a container(TK) serving to receive a group of sheet material.
 31. Means foraccepting different groups of sheet material according to claim 30,characterized in that the container (TK) has an opening for receivingand removing sheet material.
 32. Means for accepting different groups ofsheet material according to claim 31, characterized in that at least theopening for receiving and removing sheet material can be closed byclosure means (14).
 33. Means for accepting different groups of sheetmaterial according to any of claims 30 to 32, characterized in that thecontainer (TK) has at least one gap (11) that allows sheet materiallocated in the container to be acted upon from outside the container insuch a way that the sheet material is transported in the direction ofthe opening for removal.
 34. Means for accepting different groups ofsheet material according to any of claims 30 to 33, characterized inthat the container (TK) has dimensions, after removal of the sheetmaterial, that substantially correspond to the dimensions of the sheetmaterial.
 35. Means for accepting different groups of sheet materialaccording to any of claims 30 to 34, characterized in that the container(TK) has information.
 36. Means for accepting different groups of sheetmaterial according to claim 35, characterized in that the information ofthe container (TK) is coded magnetically and/or optically and/orelectrically and/or electronically.
 37. Means for accepting differentgroups of sheet material according to any of claims 30 to 36,characterized in that the container (TK) is a cover or envelope. 38.Means for accepting different groups of sheet material according toclaim 37, characterized in that the cover or envelope consists of paperand/or cardboard and/or paperboard.